Health

10 Most Dangerous Alternative Medicine Practices

Urine therapy or urotherapy refers to the collection of ways that human urine is used for medical or cosmetic purposes. The urine, preferably your own, can be drunk, massaged onto the skin or even gargled. Urine therapy was popularized by British naturopath, John W. Armstrong who, inspired by his family’s use of urine for stings and toothaches, went on a fast of nothing but urine and tap water to cure a certain ailment of his. He then wrote a book detailing his experience with urotherapy and the method gradually gained popularity all over the world, especially in India where urine is also a known Ayurvedic treatment.

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Urine is often used as a sort of universal remedy, supposedly curing everything from jellyfish stings to cancer. It has been used to treat acne, arthritis, toothache, indigestion, and many other conditions.

Not only is this sort of therapy unhygienic, it can cause itching of the skin, diarrhea, soreness, fatigue, and fever. Unbelievably, supporters of the method think that these alarming symptoms are part of your body’s positive reaction to your own pee. Seriously? Urine therapy may be effective only through the placebo effect and, if that’s the case, I’d much rather drink water or beer for that matter and convince myself that it is a magic elixir of life.

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